More Than 3 Years Later, Nintendo Just Added Health Bars to Splatoon 3 — And Fans Have Mixed Opinions

Nintendo has added wellness bars to Splatoon 3 much than 3 years aft the game's release, prompting a mixed absorption from fans.

This week, Nintendo dropped an unexpected update to its inky shooter threequel, which primitively launched for the archetypal Switch backmost successful September 2022. Alongside a caller "Aura Flow" diagnostic and different tweaks, the spot has notably added wellness bars — thing which has travel arsenic a immense astonishment to fans of the franchise.

In spot notes published alongside the game's 11.0.0 update, Nintendo announced that it would present beryllium imaginable "to spot an opponent's remaining wellness erstwhile they've been hit. Previously, you could lone spot however damaged an force was by looking intimately astatine however overmuch ink they were covered successful – not truthful casual to bash successful the vigor of battle!"

Apart from the astonishment of specified a large alteration being made truthful precocious successful Splatoon 3's life, it's that second condemnation that has near fans with confusion. Splatoon has ever featured a ocular practice of harm without the request for wellness bars — however splattered successful ink a quality is — and wellness pools successful wide are typically rather low, with astir weapons splatting foes successful 3 oregon 4 hits.

Combat is an important portion of Splatoon gameplay, of course, but lone 1 constituent — arsenic matches revolve astir coating maps with ink to found territory control.

"You'll besides beryllium capable to spot the wellness bars of your teammates if they've taken damage," Nintendo continued. "Keeping an oculus connected these wellness bars is simply a large mode to enactment your allies oregon pursuit down weakened foes – adjacent if you've teamed up with Inklings and Octolings you're not acquainted with."

adding a wellness barroom aft the games update rhythm finished similar a twelvemonth agone was surely a prime https://t.co/glOvo4bme6 pic.twitter.com/P1ZMDIA022

"Health bars are adjacent funnier erstwhile you see Splatoon came up with a unsocial mode to person wellness bars diegetically - by having the force getting covered successful ink, that's the worldly that makes the crippled special," wrote 1 fan, EIectroDev. "Correct maine if I'm incorrect but it truly took the Splatoon developers 3 games and implicit 10 years to adhd disposable wellness bars," noted Thinginator90. "The minds of Nintendo devs ne'er cease to amaze."

"This wellness barroom is truthful disfigured im truthful atrocious one anticipation we tin toggle it off," added candy_draws_o_o, 1 of galore fans to kick astir however basal the wellness barroom looks. (And no, you can't toggle it off.)

This week's update besides added "Aura Flow," a gameplay diagnostic that rewards competitory play — splatting aggregate enemies successful speedy succession — with a burst of area-covering ink, positive a 30-second buff to velocity and different stats.

"I hates this and the wellness barroom update," said KidaToAsobou. "It conscionable makes Splatoon a much aggressive/competitive game. [Splatoon 3] already did that by making the maps smaller forcing players to combat much but this lone further incentivizes radical to onslaught the force squad alternatively past inking."

It's possibly unsurprising to spot a antagonistic absorption to specified changes from fans who person go utilized to playing Splatoon 3 a definite mode for truthful long. But this lone further begs the question of wherefore Nintendo is adding these features now, years aft launch. By mode of an answer, respective fans person suggested the anticipation that Nintendo is present investigating ideas it is experimenting with up of a caller iteration of Splatoon, examining feedback and utilizing Splatoon 3 arsenic unrecorded gameplay situation to spot however subordinate behaviour is impacted. "Testing splatoon 4 features I reckon," wrote pejic839, "like erstwhile they added online to Super Mario enactment arsenic a trial for Superstars."

Next up for the Splatoon franchise volition beryllium Switch 2 single-player spin-off Splatoon Raiders, which volition grow the bid with a much story-orientated entry. As for Splatoon 4, portion different crippled successful the franchise feels inevitable, there's nary connection connected that yet.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social